Prayer Requests (last updated 4-30-08)

Hi everyone!



I´m having a great time here in Peru but as always there areas where I would love your prayer support.



1. Seeking God- ¨but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.¨This is one of the verses that God gave me about why I am here. As I read Matthew God linked this verse (mat. 6.33) and Matthew 8.22. ¨But Jesus said to him, ¨Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.¨ This is one of those hard verses that I never really liked or understood but as I prayed God revealed (to me in this time) that this verse is telling us to leave the things of the flesh, since we are alive in Christ and dead to the sins of the flesh, behind and ¨allow the dead to bury their own dead.¨ So this is my first prayer request that here in this time I may fullfledged seek God´s face.

-----I love it when God´s confirms a word that he has given you through other saints. About two minutes after writing this first prayer request I went into the bible school to hear David play a song and Mario surprised us with a prophetic message. After he spoke we were singing and worshipping, in Spanish, and then Mario began to prophesy in English. It was one of those words that just resonated as truth and was a complete confirmation of what God had been speaking to me through his word. Hallelujah :)

2. Learning the language- I didn´t learn anything my freshman year in Spanish 1 but had a great second year with Senora Hallingstad. With that little foundation I am able to get around but can´t have real conversations with the people. It is hard to learn Spanish when David is so much better than I am. When we are working or shopping or wherever we go it is faster, easier, and more comprehensive for David to talk... it´s really nice but at the same time I don´t get to learn the language. David is teaching me Spanish as we work but it is a challenge and I could definately use the Holy Spirit to speed things along :)

ºººupdateººº I think it is sort of natural when learning a new language but I feel like I´ve sort of rounded a corner. It is easier to understand and communicate and everything is coming to me a little faster now. Praise the Lord for the patient Peruvians who are helping me learn the language :)

3. Health- Well to start from the feet up:
I have a rash on one of my toes that Tinactin can´t kill. (Praise God it´s gone! Thanks for you Prayers.)
I sprained my ankle back in August and it is still giving me trouble when I work.
My back and neck seem to enjoy going out of place (Praise God. Two weeks ago Dee Copely spoke at the bible college about the ¨new song ¨ and after her message we were worshipping and I was dancing at the back entrance, just worshipping God and up front Mario was like, ¨Someone´s back is being realigned¨. Sure enough my back was the worst it had been since I had been in Peru and as I moved around the bones where in place and the pain was gone. I´ve cranked it a couple of times since then playing with the kids and working but I guess that just means I need to dance some more :) Hallelujah!!!)
My wrists never healed from when I broke them.
My right hand has two warts :(
And now I seem to have la Gripa again (a cough)

4. Wisdom- There is so much need but I only have so many resources, simply said I need my Father´s wisdom. Many days I´m torn to pour out everything I own, everything I have, and all that I am. It is so hard to come from a place of such prosperity and blessing to the basurero or to any place where there is poverty such as that which surrounds me here and I must ask the Lord to hold my heart, for it is confused. And so I must listen and love, pour out all of myself that I can, all that the Lord calls me to, and be a good steward. For every gift I have is from the Father and every gift I give is to be a spirit led gift from the Father.

¨If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?¨—James 2:15-16

¨give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” —Luke 6:38

and Matthew 25:14-30

5. Spirit Led-Romans 8:14 ¨because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.¨

Thanks everyone, I will continue to update this post as I go.

Pictures

Well it took me forever to get pictures online and the viewer I have will not flip them but if you turn your head sideways you´ll see why I love Peru :)

There are stores everywhere and one of the ways David and I remain sane down here is to splurge everyonce in a while, it´s okay though a 500 ml pop is only like 36 cents.
My Dad and I spent 4 days in the high mountains.. this bird flew within like 10 feet of me.
In America you just don´t see buildings that are over a thousand years old!

Peru is a much simpler land.

you can barely see my dad at the foot of the falls (although it helps to turn your head sideways) but it seemed like everywhere you turned there was a waterfall.

The lakes up here are crazy pretty blueish greens.
Gonna take my cow for a walk.

Breakfast for two for less than 2 dollars but those bananas where gross!

The market down the road sells chickens...

sorry you have to turn your head to the side I might try to download a different viewer off the internet but I just wanted to show you some of the rockwork in the temples.

The lake that my Dad and I hiked to was 4450 meters! and it was one heck of a hike! beautiful though :)

Changing perspectives

As I walked from the old German Castle that I am staying across the street to Mario's in the blazing Peruvian sun I was once again struck by the absurdity of it. It seems to happen a couple of times everyday, when I am struck by how incredible this all is... I am in Peru! It seemed like a great idea back in the States and even on the plane ride down but since then I´ve sometimes wondered...

Here I am some gringo boy, who by the world's standards should be in college right now, carrying a 3 litter bottle of water with a shoe string and duct tape handle over this Peruvian Pastor's house in the middle of Trujillo. I had been thinking that I was hear to bless the people with my hands and back but as I lifted that first adobe brick I realized that if I were trying to add on to Hope or move a wall in Miracle my time would be better spent at home! I made 15 dollars an hour landscaping and for fifteen dollars an hour I could very comfortably pay 5 guys to work an hour down here. So every hour working back home would not only employ five Peruvians but it would kick the construction into overdrive. I´m working hard, actually I'm busting my butt, but it isn't used to this heat and ultimately it just can´t be about the work....

In my head I always knew that it was the experience but I was still thinking that I would be able to work long hours and really bless these people with my labor. It takes a while to understand third world countries. There is an abundance of willing laborers but a shortage of $mulah$ so I´ve found that the biggest way that I have really been able to bless the people here has been with my money and not as much with my back. This isn't supposed to sound like a complaint it is simply a necessary change of perspectives. I've always liked working and it is fun cultivating the relationships with the kids and adults while working alongside them but that very first day God spoke to me that although I am here to be a blessing to the people... God called me here, specifically, because he needs to work on my heart. I am learning patience that only comes from working in a third world country and so much more.

Days like today are great when I can sit back and check myself. Even in a foreign country I have the tendancy to busy up my life and shut out God and so everyday here I spend time in the word and in his presence praying and oftentimes just ¨soaking¨. I am here to grow as a servant of Christ, into a man of God, and to come into a place of greater intimacy with my Abba. Although I desperately want to learn the language more, the language barrier has created a life that is much quieter. Unless I am with Mario, Sarah, David, or my Dad I am isolated and am able to seek God and pray constantly, or atleast a lot more often. Once again I don´t want any of this to sound like a complaint! It isn't at all a bad thing, it has just taken a shift in perspective, and it has actually taken me one step closer to daily intimacy with my creator which is ultimately EXACTLY why I am here. Hallelujah!

There is so much more, so many other things that God is showing to me, but it is really hot and I want to go back to the Castle to shower... I'll post pics when I can and blog somemore.

Expanding Hope

Hope is one of Mario´s buildings that is used as a kindergarden and church. It was the main project that I raised support for and it is just about finished. I was dissappointed to only help work for 3 days but I went on a trip with my Dad (which was amazing) and they had to work very fast because it is a school and the students needed there building back! With the American dollar dropping and all of the prices here in Peru rising the money did not go quite as far as we had hoped. Thanks to all of your support the building is now over twice as large and is really quite nice. I´ll post pictures soon.

Walls
Brick 700
Dirt 160
Watchmen 126
Gas 100
Install Brick 490
Foundation 66

Roof
Sheet 600
Wood 275
Transportation 40
Install new roof 100
1 day work dismantle wall 50
1 day work dismantle roof 50


Total 2757 sol
2757 sol ÷ 2.77 sol/dollar =
$995.30